Dark Lady of the Sith: the Tale of Darth Kaela
by DarthAnakin2003
Summary: what if Darth Vader had taken an apprentice other than Galen Marek? what if Vader's Redemption happened a little bit sooner than RoTJ? This fanfiction covers that idea. Note - expect Luke/Vader later in story Rated T for some violence (think Force Lightning)
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN STAR WARS

Dark Lady of the Sith: The Tale of Darth Kaela

PROLOUGE

Darth Vader stormed out of his shuttle and onto the terrain of Geonosis. There had been whispers of remnants of the Separatists' droid army and the Emperor had sent Vader here to wipe them out.

Once Vader and his Stormtroopers had been seen by the few droids, the droids had immediately opened fire on them, but were soon wiped out by the Stormtroopers.

The natives had come running at Vader, falling at his knees and declaring their gratitude to him for freeing them from the threat of the droids. Vader had growled in annoyance, his mission not being about the good of others, but the good of the Empire. He swatted the natives away, using the Force to push them, and beckoned the Stormtroopers he had left back towards the shuttle.

Except.

The girl. With hair bleached by the sun and pale blue eyes, with a splattering of freckles across her nose, the young girl who came running at Vader with the dark-skinned natives was a strange sight, to say the least. She clung to Vader's leg and wailed when a dark-skinned man tried to pry her off. Vader, however, grabbed the girl's arm before she could be hauled away by the man. He sensed the girl's quivering, yet dark Force signature as she sized him up while his leather-gloved hand still clamped on her arm. "Who is this girl?" Vader boomed.

The dark-skinned man came forward and bowed nervously. "She's a sorceress, my lord. She has magic. Dark magic…"

Vader looked at the man sideways. "Magic…"

The man nodded fervently. "Yes! She kills things, milord. She kills them by grabbing the air until they fall down dead."

So. The girl had already mastered the Force Choke, being extremely young and apparently having no training whatsoever. "How old are you?"

The girl matched Vader's gaze. "Four years old."

"They say you are a sorceress. I say that you are strong with the Force."

A spark came into the girl's icy eyes. "Like you," she stated. "I am like you."

Vader was startled, but none would ever know the expression that came onto his face behind the mask. The natives here knew of Darth Vader, the second-in-command of the Empire, yes, but hardly anyone knew that he was strong in the Force. Yet this girl…somehow already knew. _She must be strong indeed to be able to read other's Force signatures at four years of age._ "Who are her parents?"

The man ran his tongue over his lips. "Her parents are dead, milord. They have been for as long as anyone can remember. And she is an outcast here." The man tried to say it in a sorry-sounding voice, for the girl's sake.

However, the girl shot a withering glance at the man. "I don't like to be pitied, Javon."

Vader's hold tightened on the girl's arm. "What is your name?"

"Moriah."

"Moriah. Would you like to be freed from the life of an outcast? Would you like to become a powerful Sith, and a ruler of the Empire?"

Moriah's face was serious. "Would I get to kill things?"

There was silence for exactly one of Vader's respiration cycles. Vader was quietly very unnerved at this girl's…darkness. He himself had never wanted to grow up to kill things…but here he was. Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith and the Emperor's right-hand man. But this icy-eyed young girl already had far more darkness in her than Anakin Skywalker ever did. Vader had no idea what this dark-minded girl's capabilities were, but he decided to take the gamble. If she didn't work out as an apprentice, Vader could dispose of her very easily. So he sighed, and spoke. "Yes. You would get to kill things. And you will be my apprentice."

The girl smiled and grasped Vader's hand, with apparently no thought of the people she was leaving behind. That suited Vader just fine, and he began walking towards his shuttle with the girl's hand still held tight to his.

Javon, meanwhile, stood gawking. "Vader!" he said, all respect forgotten, "If she is strong in the Force, we want her! She will be of use to us! She will –" Javon's sentence was cut off as Vader used the Force to crack his neck and fling his body up against the nearest tree. He looked down at Moriah, expecting to see tears in her eyes or a shocked expression on her face.

Moriah was shocked, but pleased. "You are powerful." A glint came into her eyes. "And I shall become even more powerful."

Though nervous at the girl's lust for power at such a young age, Vader relished the darkness in her mind. He knew he'd picked the right apprentice.


	2. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STAR WARS

CHAPTER ONE

Darth Kaela's double-bladed red lightsaber clashed against Vader's own. Kaela's white-blond hair whipped against her face, pairing with her yellow eyes to give her a frightening appearance. Vader's apprentice flipped in the air above him, hoping to disarm him that way. But Vader, seizing his opportunity, reached up and grasped the girl's free-flowing hair with his leather-gloved hand, sending Kaela crashing down to the ground and her lightsaber clattering away. Vader swung his lightsaber down towards Kaela's neck, Kaela deflecting it with the Force just in time, but not before it burned a nasty cut in her shoulder. With a cry of pain and fury, Kaela leaped up and clenched her fist. Vader dropped immediately to his knees, his lightsaber clattering to the floor, as Kaela's invisible fingers tightened around his windpipe.

Using the Force at the same time as she was choking Vader, Kaela called her lightsaber, as well as Vader's, into her hands as she crossed the blades near his neck as he himself had once done to another Sith so long ago. Kaela released her Force Chokehold while smiling evilly. "You are beaten, my Master."

Vader stood and nodded, reluctantly admitting defeat to his apprentice. His respirator kicked into overdrive and he leaned heavily against the wall, the breathing device's noise punctuated by the _hiss_ of the two lightsabers being deactivated.

Kaela's eyes slowly faded from yellow to icy blue as her concern for her Master overshadowed her anger. Though she would have died rather than admitted it, she did care for Vader, despite all the times they'd tried to kill each other in vicious spar sessions. He was the one person who was not afraid of her dark Force powers, but instead tried to strengthen them. He was the one and the only father-figure she'd ever had, and deep inside, she was grateful to him for it. Though each spar session with Vader was more like a fight for her life, she knew that he would never willingly harm her. And she knew that she would never willingly harm him.

"I am going into my chambers, Kaela," Vader said over the _hooo-hhhh_ of his respirator, interrupting Kaela's inward musings. "Meanwhile, I want you to ask the commander for a status report on our tracking that pesky Luke, that Rebel boy who destroyed the Death Star."

Kaela bowed and nodded. "Yes, my Master."

Vader wheeled on her and pointed a finger in her face. "I make contact with the Emperor today. Make sure you keep your presence hidden."

Kaela nodded again. "Yes Master." She smiled again, then spoke to Vader. "When the time is right, I will no longer have to keep my presence hidden." She patted the hilt of her double-bladed 'saber knowingly.

Vader smiled too, underneath the mask. "Yes, my young apprentice. When the time is right." He turned abruptly and walked away with a _swoosh_ of his cape.

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Vader sat back in his chair and sighed in pleasure as the helmet was lifted off his scarred head, freeing him from the ever-present sense of claustrophobia that accompanied life in the suit. Vader inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and pretending for just one moment that he was dressed in the dark robes of a Sith, hair blown back by the wind with tanned skin and no scars, breathing on his own for the first time in years.

But Vader's comlink rang, shattering his reverie. Vader sighed – not in pleasure this time – as the helmet descended back upon his head and he punched the button to answer the comlink. The sickly form of Emperor Palpatine popped up out of the holoprojector, shrouded in a blue-ish light. Vader reluctantly knelt before the image. "What is thy bidding, my Master?"

"There is a great disturbance in the Force."

"I have felt it," Vader replied as usual.

"We have a new enemy. The young Rebel who destroyed the Death Star, I have no doubt, this boy is the offspring of Anakin Skywalker."

Vader was shocked beyond belief, but managed to keep his voice steady. "How is that possible?" _You told me that I killed Padme in my anger,_ he added silently. _Yet here is this boy, her and Anakin's…son._

"Search your feelings, Lord Vader, you know it to be true. He could destroy us," Palpatine said, interrupting Vader's thoughts.

Vader sensed where the conversation was going and tried to shield the Rebel that he knew to be his son, this precious remnant of Padme, from certain death at his hands. "He's just a boy. Obi-wan can no longer help him."

"The Force is strong with him. The son of Skywalker must not become a Jedi."

Vader swallowed hard underneath his mask. "If he could be turned, he would become a powerful ally."

"Yesss…" the Emperor said evilly. "He could become a great asset. Can it be done?"

"He will join us or die, Master," Vader said in a show of good-confidence with the Emperor. He bowed again as the Emperor's hologram flickered and went out. Vader sighed to himself. He had just given his son an ultimatum that even he had yet to know about. _Luke, son,_ Vader thought to himself, _you will join me or die. For your sake, choose the former._

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"Master!" Darth Kaela's voice rang in Vader's head as the walls of his hyperbaric chamber lifted up and Vader stood.

"Master!" The girl said again. "We have tracked the friends of the Rebel boy to Bespin, the city in the clouds. We have no indication of the whereabouts of the Rebel himself, however, I believe that we could use our knowledge of the location of his friends to our advantage…"

"Luke," Vader said irritably to himself. "His name is Luke."

Kaela's eyes shone with a question, but she thought the better of asking it as she sensed Vader's confused and unstable Force signature through their Master-Apprentice bond. "So, Master, what do you think the best course of action would be? Somehow we must lure this boy to Bespin, where he will be within our reach…"

"This boy is the son of Skywalker," Vader mused, partly to himself, "So he is strong in the Force. The suffering of his friends will bring him to Bespin. He will sense their pain, and walk right into our trap. We will then freeze Skywalker in carbonite and transport him to the Emperor."

Kaela nodded, but was fixated on something Vader had said earlier. "Young Skywalker…Master…is this Rebel your…son?"

Vader mentally slapped himself on the forehead. "Yes, Kaela," he said stiffly. "Is there a problem?"

Kaela felt the shroud of anger swirling around her master's Force signature and wisely decided to say no more. "No, master…"

"Very good, then." Vader turned around and barked to the Admiral.

The Admiral ran to Vader and stood at attention. "Yes, milord?"

"Set our course for Bespin. And make sure that our arrival is hidden from the friends of the Rebel boy."

The Admiral bowed. "Yes, milord."

Kaela smiled in evil pleasure once the Admiral had gone. "The boy will sense the pain of his friends…and he'll walk right into our trap."

Vader did not share his apprentice's pleasure. He was sure that Luke would not turn, and then he would be forced to kill him.


	3. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN STAR WARS

CHAPTER TWO (on Bespin - right smack in the middle of ESB)

Han Solo screamed in agony as his face was lowered closer and closer to the electrically charged sharp points sticking up from Vader's torture device. Vader leaned against the wall opposite Han and crossed his arms. This man's suffering would surely draw his son to him. Vader was still not entirely sure how he felt about that. He meanwhile glanced sideways to his apprentice, who was grinning openly, relishing the sight of Solo's torture. Vader sighed to himself as he realized that Kaela had no intention of taking Luke prisoner, despite what the Emperor had said to him. He realized that Kaela had no need for another apprentice, so she would have no use for Luke. A chill ran down his spine as he knew that Kaela was out for blood, Luke's blood.

Vader stepped abruptly forward and deactivated the torture device, somehow hoping against all hope that Luke had not yet sensed the man's suffering, and would therefore not come to Bespin. Kaela, however, was visibly disappointed at Han's deep gasps of relief as Vader plucked him roughly by the arm and pushed him into two Stormtroopers who had been standing by.

"You need not be so excited, my young apprentice," Vader said to Kaela as the troopers dragged Han away. "Luke's death is not on our agenda; we are merely capturing him for transportation to the Emperor."

If Kaela had been a very little younger, she would have made a face at her Master. "As you wish, my Master." She smiled to herself after she'd finished speaking. While she put on a pretense of being subservient to Vader, inwardly she knew that she had no plans for taking Luke prisoner. Unless physically restrained, she knew that she would stop at nothing to kill Vader's son when the time came, destroying the last weak remnant of Anakin Skywalker that still lingered inside her master's soul.

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Luke Skywalker and his astromech droid R2-D2 peered around the corner, then quickly retreated, as the feared bounty hunter Boba Fett lead the way to his ship, _Slave One,_ followed by Imperial officers and Stormtroopers that carried the carbonite-encased Han Solo. Luke crept quietly away from them, trying to find Leia and Chewbacca. As he did, a Stormtrooper turned around and fired at him. Luke immediately crouched down and returned the trooper's fire, becoming vaguely aware now that more and more white-armored men were shooting at him. Amid all the chaos, he saw Leia being roughly escorted away from the fighting by the Imperials.

"Luke!" she screamed. "Don't! It's a trap! It's a trap!"

Luke had no idea what that was supposed to mean, so he continued walking down the hallway once the fire had subsided, albeit much more cautiously. He came to an open blast door, and after looking both ways, walked through it. Artoo tried to follow, but the blast door closed almost on top of him. Luke stepped on a platform that promptly raised him up into…somewhere.

Luke was more than a little alarmed that Artoo was no longer with him, in addition to the fact that he was now locked in a strange place that looked like a carbon freezing chamber. Luke shivered at a dark tremor in the Force that wrapped itself around him. Instinctively, he drew out his lightsaber and ignited it.

Luke suddenly heard the sound he most dreaded: Darth Vader's mechanical breathing. _The breathing of the man who killed my father,_ Luke thought with a shudder.

 _"_ The Force is with you, young Skywalker," Vader's disembodied voice boomed from somewhere above, "But you are not a Jedi yet." Vader finally stepped out from wherever he'd been hiding, accompanied by a shorter figure cloaked in black.

Luke swung his lightsaber in the air in what he thought was an intimidating manner. He heard a malicious chuckle from the shorter figure as the two Sith ignited their lightsabers. Luke got a bad shock as he realized that the shorter figure's 'saber was double-bladed. Luke inhaled deeply as he stepped up to meet the two dark figures, clashing his weapon against Vader's. The shorter Sith's lightsaber swiped viciously near Luke's side; he avoided it just in time.

"Easy, Kaela," Vader boomed.

Luke had no idea why Vader was telling his apprentice to take it easy on him, but he was inwardly grateful. He knew that he would never survive a full-on fight with the two Sith both playing hardball.

Vader now rammed his 'saber up against Luke's, the two blades squealing in protest. Luke jumped to the side to parry a blow from Kaela that would've otherwise taken his head off. Kaela pushed Vader aside and kicked Luke in the stomach, sending him tumbling down a short set of stairs. The two Sith leaped, capes billowing out behind them to make them seem larger-than-life as they landed on the floor. Kaela lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, crying in pain and anger and clutching a sprained right ankle, leaving Vader to pursue Luke. Vader advanced on Luke, pushing him closer and closer to the carbon freezing chamber. Vader again clashed his lightsaber against his son's, pushing Luke into the carbon freezing chamber. Vader's scarred lips twisted into a smirk beneath the mask as he looked down on the chamber that was rapidly filling with steam. "You are not as strong as you thought, young Skywalker." He paced around the hole, waiting for Luke's carbonite-encased body to re-appear. He was startled from where he stood by a noise from above, and upon looking up, he saw Luke's blond head disappear from view among the rafters. "Impressive," Vader hissed, slashing at Luke with his crimson lightsaber.

Luke only climbed higher.

"Most impressive."

Luke jumped down from where he clung, pointing one of the pipes at Vader and filling his face with smoke.

Vader growled in response as he was pushed off the platform, his cape billowing out beneath him. Luke clutched his lightsaber in his hand as he scanned the area for any further signs of Vader or Kaela. Seeing none, he deactivated his lightsaber and walked around, trying to find an exit. As he bent to enter a small tunnel-like passage, the lights in it suddenly blipped on. Luke gripped his 'saber hilt tighter and made his way through the passage.

Luke stood up as he exited the passage and stiffened at a dark tremor in the Force. He put a hand to his lightsaber hilt and then ignited it as he suddenly saw the overbearing figure of Darth Vader swoop down to attack him. Kaela was back as well; she was limping slightly but still wore that malicious grin on her face as she joined her master in attacking Luke.

Vader's breathing kicked up a notch as he pushed Luke towards a large window that viewed the reactor shaft of Cloud City. Signaling Kaela to keep Luke at bay, Vader motioned with his hand and sent a piece of debris flying at Luke's face. Luke swiped at it with his lightsaber, leaving his side open and vulnerable to Kaela's swings. Kaela jumped towards Luke, ducked under the sweep of his 'saber and left a nasty cut in his side with a swipe of her double-bladed weapon. Luke clutched his side and howled in agony as he waved his lightsaber madly, trying to fend off any further attacks.

Meanwhile Vader reached out with the Force again and again, sending flying objects hurtling towards Luke until the young Jedi's face was bruised and bloody. At last, Vader sent a particularly large piece of debris towards the window, and it shattered into a million pieces under the impact. An otherworldly wind began to blow, sucking Luke out the window and leaving him hanging off a ledge.

Luke heaved himself up, exhausted, breathing heavily as he ignited his lightsaber to face Vader and Kaela once again. The two Sith pushed him out a door, out of the safety of the enclosure, to an area that wrapped around the main enclosure, separated from the vast hole that was the reactor shaft only by a thin railing.

Luke glanced over his shoulder and noticed a thin – what could only be called a catwalk, but with no railing – extending out farther than the ring on which the three were fighting. A tall pole stuck up from the catwalk, and Luke was sure that he could climb up it. He was sure that Vader and the girl called Kaela would not follow him there. If he could only get to that pole…

Luke saw that Vader was edging him towards that general area – not towards the catwalk, but to the _edge_ of the floor on which they fought _near_ the thin catwalk –

 _The edge! Vader's going to kill me!_

Luke's feet suddenly slipped out from underneath him, and he landed on his back facing Vader's crimson lightsaber. Luke shook violently with fear.

"You are beaten, young one," Vader boomed down to the boy. "Don't make me destroy you."

Luke, while still shaking, swung his lightsaber all around in response to Vader and managed to make contact with Kaela's knee – severing her left lower leg, leaving her with nothing but a sprained ankle on which to stand. Kaela screamed in pain and fury as she collapsed to the ground, and cursed as her lightsaber clattered underneath the railing, falling into the reactor shaft.

Vader growled at Luke in anger, pushing him closer and closer to the edge as his temper flared. Luke swung his lightsaber again, grazing Vader's shoulder and causing the Sith to roar with frustration. Vader in turn slashed his lightsaber, making contact with Luke's right wrist and severing his hand, sending the hand and the boy's lightsaber down the reactor shaft. Luke clutched his empty sleeve and screamed. Vader advanced closer to him, and Luke slithered over the edge of the floor and onto the catwalk, maneuvering himself carefully to where the long pole stuck up from the catwalk at its end, clinging to it with all he had.

"Luke," Vader said to the boy suddenly. "Come with me."

Luke shook his head no, his left hand shaking so badly that he could barely hold onto the pole.

"Join me. Join me! I can complete your training, and with our combined power, we can overthrow the Emperor and rule the galaxy!" Vader stretched out his arm to Luke.

"I'll never join you!" Luke screamed out. _You killed my father!_ Luke added silently in his head.

Vader, reading Luke's thoughts, smirked beneath the mask. "Obi-wan never told you what happened to your father," he goaded.

"He told me enough!" Luke hissed as he scrambled for a better hold. "He told me _you_ killed him."

"No, Luke. _I_ am your father."

"NOOOOO!" Luke cried in disbelief. " _THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"_ Luke's teeth gritted in anger.

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Join me, and we can rule the galaxy as father and son! Feel the power of the Dark Side!"

Luke stared back at Vader with a look of utter shock in his eyes. He looked down the reactor shaft, then back at Vader. With a crazed, vacant smile, Luke looked Vader straight in the eye…and let go of the pole.

Vader's outstretched arm grew tired; he let it fall back to his side with a sigh that his vocoder could not interpret as anything but a distorted growl. Vader turned around and grasped his now unconscious apprentice, and carried her away from the reactor shaft, away from this accursed place.

He sighed again, to himself, as he remembered the look in her yellow eyes as she had gone after his son. He was almost grateful, in his own way, that Kaela's leg had been severed. If not for her injury, he was sure that Kaela would've killed his son regardless of what he said.

Vader sighed yet again. It didn't matter anymore, he knew. Luke would surely die in the heart of Bespin's reactor shaft. _Well, that's better than me being forced to kill him,_ Vader thought bitterly.

He knew that he should've been grateful to have Luke out of the way. He already had an apprentice in Kaela, and a very good one at that, and besides, having Luke around would only complicate things – but still. Luke was his son. And the bit of humanity left in Vader cried out in protest against the thought of leaving Luke to die in the reactor shaft. _But there's nothing to be done now,_ Vader thought.

Meanwhile, Kaela stirred slightly and moaned in Vader's arms; Vader rested a reassuring hand on her forehead. "Rest, apprentice," his artificial baritone said in a voice softer than one would've thought possible from his vocoder. "We will be at the medical frigate soon."

Vader stepped out into the man halls of Bespin. The officers there jumped to attention at the sight of him. "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival," he growled at them. "And make sure to have a medical bay ready by the time we land."

The officers, with a "Yes, milord," bowed and set about doing their master's work.

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Meanwhile, aboard the _Millenium Falcon,_ Luke Skywalker cradled his injured arm and sat in the cockpit seat with a haunted look in his eyes. "Ben," he whispered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

 **Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Star Wars.**

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	4. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN STAR WARS

CHAPTER THREE

Darth Kaela gritted her teeth in pain, determined not to cry out, as her new artificial leg thumped against the surface of the tile floor, sending jolting pain all the way up what remained of her leg. Kaela stumbled and cursed as she hit the floor headfirst. She wished that she had the solid presence of her Master nearby her, if only for moral support. But Vader had said he had other things to attend to, and he could not spare the time. The Sith Mistress felt her anger rise as shooting pain again went up her leg as she pulled herself off the ground in her quarters aboard the Star Destroyer.

She _hated_ Luke Skywalker. _He_ was the one who'd done this to her.

She hated the bit of Anakin within her master, who'd reached out to Luke, offered to take the boy on as his apprentice.

She _loathed_ the Skywalkers, both of them, and swore right then and there that she would not rest until she'd killed them herself.

Kaela sighed as she lowered herself carefully on her bed. The Med-Droid had recommended that she get some sleep, and it must've been right: Kaela now felt drained and exhausted from the earlier fight. Kaela lay down and turned off the lights with another sigh. Her exhaustion was only coddled by the endless list of things she would have to do once she was again mobile: re-build her lightsaber, re- _train_ with her lightsaber skills, physical therapy sessions twice a week, and the thing she despised most of all – that Luke Skywalker was still a threat. She'd felt Luke's living presence while she'd been in the med-center, and though her master hadn't said anything about it, she'd known that Vader had felt it too. She knew that Luke was _not_ dead, and she knew that Vader would continue to seek the boy out and make his offer to his son again. She couldn't stand the thought of Vader taking the boy as an apprentice. The Sith Rule of Two would be violated once again if Vader took the boy, and unlike her present plans to help Vader overcome the Emperor, she didn't know who would die if Vader took on the boy. Would it come down to her and Luke taking on Vader? No, that couldn't be. Vader was like her father; she could never harm him. And besides, she would then have to train Luke, and she was absolutely sure that she was _not_ ready for such a task. What about her and Vader killing Luke? No, that wouldn't work either. Vader really _was_ Luke's father, and Kaela doubted that the man would ever make a move against his son. With a chill, Kaela realized the final option: it would come down to Vader and Luke, making their move against Kaela. She _had_ to prevent that. She just _had_ to. She knew she would do whatever it took to destroy Luke, even it meant going against her Master's wishes and killing him herself. With that thought, Kaela gave a satisfied sigh, turned over on her side, and closed her eyes in preparation for a deep, healing sleep.

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 _Blaster charges fired all around the two ex-Jedi who stood protectively in front of their four-year-old girl, the child's hand in her mother's. The girl's eyes were pale blue, her hair the color of gold, her mouth smiling._

 _"This is no place to care for a child," the wife said, putting a hand to her lightsaber hilt as a charge hit a tree a little too close to their heads. "We should've fled Geonosis when we left the Order; we shouldn't have kept fighting in the Wars –"_

 _The man put a gentle finger to her lips. "There's nothing to be done now. Our main priority is keeping Moriah safe." The man looked down at his daughter, smiling._

 _At that moment, a tremor swept through the Force. The wife's smile dropped from her face; her hand went again to her lightsaber hilt. A blaster charge ripped through the air and hit her shoulder. Yelping in pain, she shoved Moriah hastily behind her as she ignited her lightsaber to fend off more and more blaster charges as Clone Troopers yelled, "Another one!"_

 _The man ignited his lightsaber as well; but it was too late for the two Jedi. The Clone Troopers surrounded them, firing round after round of charges into their bodies until the Jedi collapsed, lifeless, to the ground._

 _Moriah saw all this from her vantage point, where she was hidden behind the tree her parents had been leaning on. Sobbing quietly, she belly-crawled away from the troopers, away from her parents' bodies. When the Force told her it was safe to do so, she stood shakily and ran away from the horrible scene. Her short legs didn't hold her for long; she soon tripped and stumbled over a tree branch on the ground, falling and striking her head on a rock. She cried, more out of fear than pain, as her world slowly went dark._

Kaela sat up and gasped, her neck and back covered with cold nightmare sweat. She hadn't had the dreams for such a long time, but now they had lately seemed to be coming back with full intensity.

The Sith Mistress sighed as she swung herself out of bed. It had been 10 years since that terrible day – _10 kriffing years_ – but she still remembered it like it had happened the day before. She felt her anger rise as she remembered her cruel treatment by the natives – right _there_ on her cheek was the mark from where they'd branded her as a witch, in fact – her isolation, her pitiful little life. She remembered living off her wits outside of a village at only four years of age, only occasionally being helped out by Javon when the man felt sorry for her – but there was no use in remembering all that. She smiled to herself as she remembered Vader coming and taking her with him – the one good memory she had of her early childhood.

As Kaela pulled her black robes over her head, she noticed a datapad lying on her bedside table, its screen still opened to a page full of plans for building one's lightsaber. She picked the thing up, scrolling briefly through its contents, before she sighed and hit its power button. None of these designs appealed to her; she'd just have to try and remember how she'd built her old lightsaber – not that Vader hadn't helped her. Kaela chuckled as she remembered her Master's annoyance that she'd made her lightsaber closer in style to Darth Maul's, instead of Vader's. Kaela still had her single-bladed training 'saber though, and she called it into her hand by the Force and clipped it to her belt. With a gritting of her teeth at the pain of walking on her new leg, Kaela opened the door to her room, and was very surprised to find her Master staring down at her.

"Kaela, my young apprentice," he boomed. "Luke Skywalker is alive."

Kaela nodded impatiently. She knew that they both already knew the boy was still alive.

Vader continued: "You must begin construction on a new lightsaber immediately; afterwards we will begin your re-training. This boy is more powerful than we thought; and we must not underestimate that fact when we face him again," Vader said, gesturing to Kaela's artificial leg. Vader offered his arm to Kaela for support for the long walk to the training area, and Kaela took it. She knew that together, they could defeat this Skywalker boy. Together, they could rid the galaxy of the last remnant of the Skywalkers. Kaela couldn't wait to begin.


	5. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN STAR WARS

CHAPTER FOUR – about one year later…

Luke Skywalker leaned up against the cave wall, dressed in dark robes, inspecting the hilt of his newly-constructed lightsaber for any flaws before he turned the thing on. Finding none, he ignited the weapon and waved it gently back and forth, mesmerized by its green glow. And though he certainly enjoyed the smaller hilt and more tailored feel to this new weapon he'd constructed, Luke still felt a measure of sorrow that he'd lost his father's old lightsaber; he felt as if the last of his father Anakin Skywalker had tumbled down into that reactor shaft along with the weapon.

Luke sighed as he watched Threepio and Artoo going together towards Jabba's palace, to free Captain Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt. Luke really hoped that this crazy plan of theirs would work. It had been a year since he lost his friend Han, and the pain from that still hadn't gone away.

" _If you knew half of what I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt, you'd probably short-circuit."_

 _"Ooweeoh. Bleep."_

Luke smiled halfheartedly as the banter of the two droids drifted in to where he stood in the cave. Hearing the pair took his mind off of...other things. Luke turned his head to look at his droids again one more time before they were swallowed up in the harsh landscape of Tatooine.

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The lightsabers of Master and Apprentice clashed together once again as the two sparred on Vader's Star Destroyer. Vader advanced towards his apprentice, hitting her lightsaber violently until it flew out of her hand. Kaela backed up against the wall and put up a Force field around herself to fend off Vader's attacks.

Vader's lightsaber came a little too close to Kaela's neck for her taste, and she ducked and rolled between the legs of her Master. Kicking him in the chest with her artificial leg, Kaela grabbed her lightsaber and ignited it again.

"You are growing stronger, my apprentice," Vader said as their two lightsabers clashed together. "Soon you will be ready to take on the Emperor." With that, Vader twirled his lightsaber, the blade hitting Kaela's hilt, making one of the blades on her two-bladed 'saber ar

Kaela leapt up and attacked Vader with her now single-bladed weapon, hitting his armor-clad shoulder with her blade and making him growl at her in pain.

Finally, though, Vader's height and weight, along with his superior skill, began to show as Kaela grew exhausted. Seizing his opportunity, Vader reached out with the Force and slammed Kaela against the far war, knocking the wind out of her. Breathing heavily, Vader picked up the girl's lightsaber from where it had fallen out of her hand and clipped it to his belt. He reached a hand to his apprentice, who pulled herself up, wheezing, as she tried to regain her breath. "You beat me that time, Master," she gasped.

Vader smiled underneath the mask. "Yes, my young apprentice, though you are very strong, you still have much to learn."

Kaela nodded breathlessly.

"Now, go to your room," Vader said as he handed her his lightsaber. "I have work that needs to be done."

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Vader's work was not nearly as impressive as one might think. Here he was, Dark Lord of the Sith, encased in frightening black armor, _sitting at a desk, shuffling paperwork concerning the building of the new Death Star._ It was humiliating. Vader somehow knew that Emperor Palpatine was behind it. Yes, of course, Vader's accursed master had assigned Vader to the most menial task possible for his apprentice. _A disgrace,_ Vader thought, with a shake of his armored head.

But suddenly, a horrible wave of pain hit Vader's mind, knocking him out of his hoverchair, clearing all thoughts of _disgrace_ and _humiliation_ from him. Vader put a hand over where his heart should've been as he heard – Luke's! his son's! – voice calling to him, shrouded in fear.

 _Father!_

Vader sat up, breathing heavily.

 _Father, help me!_

Vader closed his eyes and concentrated deeply. _Son._

 _I'm being chased by a Rancor!_

Underneath the mask, Vader raised a burned-off eyebrow. _What?_

 _You heard me! Help me! It's coming closer!_

 _Where_ are _you?_

 _Jabba the Hutt's palace! Tatooine! It's an execution!_

Vader felt a chill run up and down his spine. He knew too well of Jabba's brutality, having himself grown up on the desert planet. Being eaten alive by a Rancor was just one of many of Jabba's elaborate and torturous execution methods. Vader couldn't just let his son die that way. _Take a stick! Ah – try to jam the thing's mouth open!_

From all the light-years away, Luke looked wildly around and saw what looked like a human thigh bone lying on the floor of the enclosure. As the hulking creature stalked closer to Luke, it let out a terrifying roar. Sweat poured down Luke's face as he jammed the bone in between the Rancor's teeth, _hard._ The creature roared in rage, and after a few seconds, snapped the bone, but it had given Luke precious time. Luke ran to the bars of the enclosure in which he was trapped with the beast and pounded on them. Hideous Gamorrean guards snorted and jeered at him from the other side. Luke heard Jabba's monstrous, booming laughter above the Rancor's howling as the monster came close to him again.

 _What now!?_ Luke closed his eyes and concentrated harder than he ever had in his entire life to send his father a mental picture of his surroundings.

Vader registered what Luke had sent him: the bars, the guards, the ever-closer Rancor…

 _Luke! Is that a control panel?_

Luke's gaze panned to the left to see a small box mounted on the enclosure wall. _Yes…I see it!_

 _Use the Force! Make the thing short out and close the inner gate!_

 _What inner gate!? I don't SEE any inner gate!_

 _Trust me!_

Luke took a deep breath, reached out with the Force to the control panel…and suddenly, the aforementioned inner gate came crashing down between him and the Rancor, very conveniently landing on the beast's neck, killing it instantly. Luke leaned against the wall and breathed a massive sigh of relief.

 _Luke? Luke! Are you all right?_

Luke felt Vader's Force presence reach out to him, wrapping itself around him protectively. Though Luke knew that it was a fatherly, protective gesture, he couldn't help but feel suffocated by the darkness in Vader's Force signature.

 _Yes, Father. I'm all right._ The barred wall to Luke's right suddenly began to lift up and the guards swarmed in, taking hold of Luke's arms.

 _Luke –_ But something made Vader cut himself off. Another Force presence, even darker than his own, curled into his mind, its tendrils wrapping themselves around his thoughts and communications with his son. _Lord Vader?_ The voice belonging to the presence said. _What are you doing? I sense…great anxiety in you, my apprentice._

 _Yes, my Master,_ Vader communicated slowly.

 _What troubles you?_

Vader took a deep breath – or would've taken it, if his suit's respirator allowed it – and strengthened his mental shields as well as he could. _Nothing of importance, my Master,_ Vader lied. _Merely a pressing technical difficulty in the plans for the battle station._

 _Hmmm,_ the Emperor's presence seemed to say. Vader felt his shields being tested by the older man. Finding nothing, but still suspicious, the Emperor's tendrils suddenly relaxed their probing of Vader's mind. _Carry on, then._

Vader, when he could sense that the Emperor had completely retreated from his mind, tried to resume contact with his son. _Luke? Talk to me, son!_

Vader could sense Luke's uncertainty even as he heard his son's cautious _Thank you._ Luke promptly broke the connection with his father after he'd said that. Vader guessed that he was probably afraid of having contact with a Sith Lord.

Vader sighed to himself and stood slowly, leaning against the desk. Vader glanced back at the technical readouts for the second Death Star, knowing that he should resume his work, but his heart just wasn't in it. The Sith was too fixated on the fact that Luke had talked to him, really talked! True, it was only because the boy was in desperate, life-endangering need…but still…It gave Vader such pleasure to truly be able to say that he _had_ a son, a boy to call his own. A part of Padme still _did_ exist in the galaxy, after all…

Vader was startled by an odd sound from his vocoder; he wondered if he would need to go in for maintenance soon. But it only took him a few seconds to realize that he had started crying, and the sharp intake of breath had come through his mask. Furious, Vader composed himself and sat back down at his desk, the turmoil still swirling around inside him.  
He wasn't supposed to feel like this.

Pledging himself to the Dark Side was supposed to bring him power unmatched by any other life forms in the galaxy.

It had done that, to be sure. It had made Vader the second-in-command of the _entire Empire_. That was not a position to sneeze at.

But…it had also locked him into a horrific cycle of slavery to the Devil himself, this Emperor, Vader's master. It had taken him from the one he had loved, the one he'd fought so hard to protect.

It had got him put into a horror-suit, making him into the kind of creature young children met in their worst nightmares.

And there was no way out.

 _Why are you like this?_ His son's voice seemed to call to him. But unlike Luke's voice as it was now, this voice seemed…higher-pitched. Much younger. To tell the truth, it sounded much like Anakin's own voice when he was a child on Tatooine.

Vader jumped inside his own skin. "Luke?" he called hoarsely. "Son?"

 _Why did you kill my father?_

"No, Luke, no…I didn't…"

Luke's dream-voice had tears in it now. _Daddy, come back, I need you!_

"Luke, I'm here, I'm right here, Daddy's here –"

 _NO!_ the dream-voice cried. _You're not my daddy!_

And suddenly, the young Luke's voice was cut off, replaced by an image of Luke as he was on Bespin, hand cut off, clinging for his life with all he had. _"He told me_ you _killed him!"_ Dream-Luke snarled.

 _"No, Luke,"_ Vader had said. _"I am your father."_

Dream-Luke fixed Vader with a cold, hard stare. _"No, you are not."_

 _You are not my father._

 _You Are Not My Father._

 _YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!_

Vader awoke from the vision. He looked around, half-expecting to see Luke standing before him, angry, arms crossed. Vader wanted to take Luke in his mechanical arms, to hold him, to stroke his blond hair and tell him everything was going to be all right.

But that wasn't possible. It never would be.

And Vader knew it.

It was his fault.

And he hated himself for it.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Star Wars or any of its characters.

CHAPTER FIVE – the next day….

"Focus, Apprentice! Turn it off!"

"I'm _trying,_ Master!"

Darth Kaela was hunched over in the training area, staring at her hand and willing sparks of Force Lightning out of it. At the moment, the sparks were not obeying her commands. They had come gently at first, but as Kaela increased the intensity of the sparks, they suddenly began to flow wildly out of her hands, arcing around the room and bouncing back at her. Suddenly, one of the arcs of lightning came at Vader; before Kaela could stop it, it pushed its way into him, knocking him to the floor and instantly frying the electronics in his chestplate. Vader put up his now ignited lightsaber in an attempt to protect himself from the dark energy that was radiating from his apprentice.

The lightning deflected off Vader's lightsaber and back at Kaela, hitting her directly in the face. Kaela had never experienced anything quite like that in her short lifetime. "Master!" she screamed as she fell to the ground, the lightning still coming out of her fingertips. "Help me!"

Vader did nothing, only lay there with his artificial chest heaving up and down. Laid there with his lightsaber still up - still deflecting the lightning.

The pain was intense. Unlike anything she'd ever known.

The lightning kept coming.

Screaming.

Crying.

Falling.

Blackness.

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"Lady Kaela?"

Darth Kaela groggily blinked, and sat up. A searing pain in her face and neck made her grit her teeth. She cried out; she couldn't help it. "Wha – where?"

"You are in the med-bay of the Executor, my Lady Kaela."

Kaela looked up at the white-clad man who was looming over her. She could tell from the uniform he was wearing that he was a medic. "Medic," she said, "Where is my Mas –" Kaela stopped herself. Kaela knew that while some of the Imperial staffing were most definitely on Vader's payroll, loyal to him, she also knew that many of the staff were still fiercely loyal to the Emperor and would kill both her and Vader if they knew that Vader had taken her as an apprentice against the Emperor's orders and without his knowledge. And Kaela wasn't sure whose side her medic was on. And she knew that she would do well to not call Vader her master in the presence of an unknown medic. But before she could formulate another response, the medic smiled gently at her and said, "It's alright, my lady. Lord Vader has previously informed me of your – erm – apprenticeship to him."

Kaela nodded at the man. "And what is your name to give to my master?"

"Rikks," the medic said.

Kaela nodded again. "Thank you, Rikks."

"Well," said Rikks after a few seconds of silence, "To business, my lady. I'm sure you're wondering why you're here," the medic said.

Kaela looked at the medic distantly. "I think I might remember…there was Force Lightning…it hit me…And then I woke up here."

"Yes, M'Lady. Lord Vader told me that you had been electrocuted by reflected lightning shortly before he was taken to Urgent Care."

Kaela sat up again, then laid back down. For the first time in her life, she didn't really care where Vader was, if he was all right or not. It was an odd feeling.

"He didn't stop it," Kaela said slowly.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," Kaela said. "Leave it."

The medic looked at her questioningly, but decided to say no more. Rikks had no desire to feel Kaela's invisible fingers around his throat.

"Leave me," Kaela said after another silence.

Rikks left the room without argument.

Kaela sighed and settled herself into the pillows on the med-bay bed. She ran a hand through her blond hair. As she brought her hand back down, it brushed over the skin on her face. She stopped; her hand lingered there. The skin felt…leathery. It didn't seem to be the skin of a fourteen-year-old girl any more. Kaela suddenly thought of Emperor Palpatine's face and got a sick feeling in her stomach. Pulling out her IV needle, she hobbled over to the small mirror on the far wall. The Sith Mistress gritted her teeth in anger. Her once-gorgeous face had been destroyed. The skin was wrinkled and discolored all the way down to her neck; there were deep purple hollows around her eyes. The roots of her blond hair had turned white.

The sick feeling in her stomach intensified as Kaela stared into the mirror. All of a sudden, her abdomen heaved, and Kaela was laying on the floor in a puddle of her own vomit. Coughing, she rolled over and wiped her mouth.

She looked like a monster.

Kaela gritted her teeth again as she remembered: Vader hadn't stopped it. He'd just lain there, his lightsaber up to deflect the lightning off of him, back towards her. He'd ignored her pleas for help as she'd fallen to the ground, convulsing in pain. He'd only thought to protect himself.

 _Vader_ was the one who had done this to her. The one who claimed to be her Master. Her father.

But was in reality just a cowardly old man.

And Kaela hated him for it.

 _You mark my words,_ she thought to herself, making sure her mental shields were up and tight so that Vader could not hear, _you will pay for what you have done to me._

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 _"You do know, don't you, that if the Jedi destroy me, any chance of saving her will be lost."_

 _"I have the power to save the one you love! You must choose!"_

 _"Don't listen to him, Anakin!"_

 _"You're a good person; don't do this!"_

 _"Anakin! You're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I can't follow!"_

 _"Stop! Stop now, come back! I love you!"_

Darth Vader awoke with a start. The Dark Lord looked around, half-expecting to find himself on Mustafar, with Padme, with his Angel; on Mustafar with her for another chance – a chance to make things all right again. Vader's ruined eyes took in his surroundings: The Urgent Care bed, his IV drips, the bare walls of his room. He was surprised, not to be there. Disappointed.

But before Vader could think any more, a Med-Droid whirred into his room with some food and medicine on a tray held out in front of it. "Good morning, sir," it said.

It was odd for Vader to be called "Sir." Not "Lord Vader", not "Master", not even "My Friend." Just "Sir."

The droid's mechanical arms released the tray into Vader's sheet-covered lap. "Here are your medications, sir, and your breakfast."

"Th – thank you," Vader said slowly. The words felt strange on his tongue. He hadn't said them for too many years.

The droid clicked in response, then whirred out of the room.

As Vader slipped the orange pills between his lips and swallowed them, he tried to think what he remembered about the previous day. The Force Lightning. Telling Rikks the medic about Kaela's condition. And then waking up in Urgent Care.

Vader tentatively took a piece of the cut-up Bantha steak in front of him and brought it to his mouth, chewing slowly. Simply by the presence of the food and pain medications, Vader knew that Emperor Palpatine had not heard of his injury. If he had, there would've been no pain pills. And certainly no Bantha steak.

Vader sighed as he finished his food. He'd wanted the stuff to last as long as possible; he knew that when his suit was repaired and the mask was back on, he wouldn't be getting any more real food for a long, long time.

Vader pushed the food tray off his lap and onto the bedside table. He grimaced as the motion made an IV needle in his upper arm move and tear the skin slightly as it came out of his skin. Vader's mechanical hand hovered over the call button for the med-droid to reinsert his IV, but he soon brought his arm to rest again. He had no desire for company, even if it was just a blasted robot. He was sure that whatever it was that he'd just torn out of himself, he'd survive for a while without it.

Favoring his sore arm, Vader rolled over in bed and closed his eyes, hoping for a quick nap. It would be nice to sleep – for the first time years – without the horrid noise of his respirator "lulling" him to unconsciousness.

In the quiet darkness before sleep, it can be easy to think. Sometimes, that is a desirable thing. Other times, it's not.

In Vader's case, it most certainly was not.

But Vader _did_ think.

He thought about Padme.

He thought about his former Masters, Obi-wan and Qui-Gon Jinn.

He thought about the Jedi that he'd killed.

He thought about what life might've been like if he'd never turned to the Dark Side.

But even more than that, he thought about his son.

"Luke," Vader whispered. "I'm sorry." Now images flooded Vader's head – images of him and his son, and of Padme, of being one big happy family – _"Hi, my name's Anakin,"_ Vader faintly imagined himself saying to a passerby. _"This is my wife Padme, and this is my son Luke."_

 _No,_ Vader growled to himself, forcing the vision abruptly back down, _Don't_ think _like that!_

And then, out of nowhere, there came a sharp knocking at the door.

"Go _away,_ " Vader said harshly, painfully aware of the horrible rasp in his unmasked voice. "I – I don't wish for any visitors."

Vader faintly heard the mechanical voice of the med-droid telling whoever-it-was not to enter, then a faint yelling noise. He heard a _clank_ of metal against a wall. Then there was an eerie silence. Within moments, the door burst open to reveal the figure of his apprentice, her face hidden in her dark-hooded robe. Vader sighed to himself, then forced a smile which he knew would look grotesque on his scarred face. "Hello, Kaela," Vader said slowly.

Kaela said nothing, only came close to her master's bedside and put a cold hand on his unmasked face. "So _that's_ what was underneath your big bad mask," Kaela cooed.

Vader gritted his teeth.

"I didn't expect it to be this bad," the Sith said softly as she ran her hand along the large scar that crossed Vader's scalp. Kaela smiled falsely. "You're not that scary."

Vader struggled to sit up. "Be quiet, Apprentice."

But Kaela, undeterred, continued: " _This_ is what I've spent my life serving," she hissed. "This. This coward who goes around in a mask to hide his true face."

Vader reached a hand towards his apprentice and clenched his fist to choke her. "Shut up, Kaela; don't make me kill you."

Kaela put a hand to her throat, but quickly regained her composure and put up a protective Force field around herself. She pushed back the hood on her robes. Her scarred face contorted into a sickly grin as her eyes glowed yellow. "I'm not afraid of you, _Master,_ " she sneered. She then put a hand to her own face and pulled at the leathery, lightning-scarred skin. " _You_ did this to me," she snapped. "And I swear on the Force that you will repay me for what I've lost."

"You?" Vader gasped, half-laughing at the ridiculousness of it. "You think you've lost something?" Vader laughed derisively. "You call that a loss?" Vader narrowed his eyes, which faded from blue to yellow as his anger rose. "Then you know nothing. You know nothing of loss! You know nothing of pain! _I've_ lost everything, do you hear, everything - more than just what you call 'beauty.' Just look at me, Apprentice; think about my life, and name _one thing_ that I've not lost over these wretched twenty years!" Vader sank back into his sheets as he said this, deflating a bit after his outburst. He looked at Kaela, breathing hard.

Kaela stared blankly at her Master. She knew somehow that he was right; her loss of her beauty was nothing compared to what Vader had lost throughout his lifetime. She felt a sharp pang of guilt rise in her, but as she remembered how Vader hadn't protected her from the lightning, she forced the guilt away. "You're right," she said slowly, getting up in Vader's face. She ground her teeth as she hissed at him. "You're right; you – have – nothing. You've – lost – everything; you have nothing, you are nothing."

Vader was shocked. He couldn't stand hearing his apprentice talk to him in this way. He hated her; he wanted to choke her, crush her, smash her like a bug for being so impertinent. But he didn't. He knew that he couldn't. He knew that if he killed her now in a moment of anger, he would've destroyed the last person who he remotely cared about. Then, he knew, his failure at life would be complete. _(I won't fail again…)_ So, Vader said nothing. He did nothing.

Kaela leaned down over him one more time. "I hate you," she whispered at him before turning on her heel and storming out of his room, slamming the door behind her.

Vader stared deliriously after her.

 _I hate you._

 ** _Alright, so how am I doing so far? Please R &R!_**

 ** _One quick note: from here on out, this story will start getting into the more Vader/Luke -ish stuff that I promised in the description. Don't worry, though; Darth Kaela will still be a pretty major character! (I mean, she's the one who I named the story after!)_**

 ** _However, with my getting into the Vader/Luke part of the story will come a drawback: I'm still not entirely sure how to go about writing this, so the updates might come a little slower as I ponder how to finish my story. This is where you readers come in - I will REALLY need some advice (in reviews and PMs) on how to pick up the story after the ending of Chapter 5._**

 ** _Thanks in advance!_**


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